The present invention relates to sewing. In particular, the invention relates to particular styles of sewing that incorporate decorative stitching such as quilting. A quilt is a type of blanket typically having three layers: a decorative top layer, a middle layer of insulating material, and a backing layer. “Quilting” refers to the technique of joining these layers by stitches or ties.
Traditional quilting was done by hand and was very labor intensive. The invention of the sewing machine changed that. Quilting evolved from production of functional blankets by specialized artisans into a popular hobby enjoyed by many.
Quilting sewing machines typically have the ability to perform different modes of operation. Normally, these modes include Constant mode, Basting mode, and Regulated mode. The Constant mode operates at a set motor speed, regardless of how the user moves the machine. The Basting mode stitches at a large interval as the machine is moved, typically around 1″ between stitches. Regulated mode varies the motor speed continually to maintain a set stitch length, regardless of how fast the user is moving the machine. Switching between these modes is normally performed by choosing a mode with some user interface environment.
Each of the different modes has specific strengths and weaknesses depending on the operation being performed by the user. For instance, it is common for users to utilize Regulated mode when stitching large, sweeping patterns. It is common for users to utilize Constant mode when doing lots of small stitches for “filling” type operations. The normal process has been for the user to stop the machine, manually switch between modes, and then start stitching again in the new mode.
Several years ago, the Coast Regulate mode was developed as a way for the machine to sense and automatically switch between Regulated and Constant modes. In Coast Regulate mode, the machine normally runs in Regulated mode. The machine measures whether the needed motor speed is above a set threshold. If the required motor speed falls below this threshold, then the machine recognizes that the user is slowing down to do “fill” work, etc. and switches to a Constant operation at a user-set speed. If the user speeds up the movement of the machine enough to go back above the threshold, the machine returns to Regulated operation. While this does work, many users find it difficult to correctly set the threshold so that they get the desired results.